Fall Photo Shoot

Check out last year's here.

Giraffe Princess

This jacket was the best $2 spent at a consignment sale this fall. We bought it mostly for her dress up corner, but it came in quite handy for miss long legs to wear for Halloween. Justin was really voting for her to be a true "giraffe princess" and add her tutu to the scene, but I said that the giraffe jacket was quite cute by itself. The night he talked about her being a giraffe princess over dinner, she just got the biggest laugh out of it. So now, occasionally at the dinner table, she says "giraffe princess", slaps her hand on the table (like daddy like daughter) and looks at us expectantly to laugh. When we finally laugh (fake, I mean real), she cracks up. Then we do laugh for real. Funny girl.


We had a fun weekend with friends!

Pumpkin Carving Fun with Daddy

Happy Birthday Daddy!

So the writing could use a little work but the toddler-inspired goldfish were fun to draw. He has an upcoming fishing trip with his guys and we got him fishing supplies for gifts...going for a theme here. And did I mention that he requested lemon cake with almond whipped cream filling and almond buttercream icing? Y.U.M.


This is Grayson's "enough with the pictures, give me some cake" pose.

Cheers!

The happy birthday song has also been sung a record number of times this week for her daddy.

I love a man in an apron...

an apron with his own initials i might add. He's handy around the house with a toolbox and he loves to be in the kitchen. I'm not sure it gets any better! He's wanted in on the action with every cake I've made this year. So here was his chance...his own birthday cake. Yes, that's right, he iced his own cake (after much pleading with me). And then he said, "I mean, you don't really need to decorate it, just write my name or something". Yeah right. I was uber impressed with his first how-smooth-can-i-get-this-base-coat attempt.

Funny Girl

Two days ago I slept in until Grayson woke up because I was so tired. I went into her room to get her up, leaned over her crib, and yawned. She looked up at me, took her thumb out of her mouth, and said "You sleepy mama?"

I'm getting Christmas shopping done ahead of time with baby sister's upcoming arrival. Today we shopped for our Samaritan's Purse shoebox together. I think I must have said "this is not for Grayson, this is a gift for somebody else" about twenty times as she was saying "this Grayson's ball!...rabbit!...crayons!". The concept must have somewhat sunk in. She's trying to fall asleep for her nap and I hear her singing "happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to somebody else". Ha.

Attic Makeover: FINISHED!

(if you are just tuning in, this is post number EIGHT in a series that documents this rennovation. scroll down to start at the beginning!)

This picture below is what it's all about. Shoes off, snuggled under a blanket, drawing "ferris wheels" and "kangaroos" on the magna doodle. Every time we come up here, it's so refreshing. We're so thankful that the funds and time and people came together to pull it off, that we didn't encounter any major obstacles, and that we now get to enjoy this space together as a family. To be able to have all of my sewing gear in one place, in the SAME room where Grayson can play, and Justin can chill on the couch or check email is actually sort of unbelievable. "I go upstairs?" is a phrase we hear from Grayson quite frequently now. And personally, I can't wait for the front dormer window view of the lighted Christmas balls hanging in the pecan tree in just over a month!

Attic Makeover Part 7

(It's a bit tricky to capture photographs up here with the light and the angles)

The staircase is a bit on the narrow side, and we quickly realized that no craigs-list furniture was going to fit up here unless it came apart. So we took a family day trip to Ikea and found this couch and chair. It came ready to assemble in boxes, which fit perfectly up the stairs. The rest of the furniture either fit or had to be taken apart and then put back together. And actually, the couch and chair were the only new items we had to purchase...the rest either came from family, was bought at yard sales, or was already in the office downstairs and just got moved up here.

So towards the front of the house is the living room space/play room space.

And towards the back of the house is the office and sewing and closet areas. Justin's closet doors are the last project on the books aside from hanging pictures.

This is the front dormer and that little pile of black fur is Maggie with her head tucked behind the pillows. What can I say, the dog adores this spot. The carpet, the window, the pillows, it doesn't get much better. Oh yeah, and Grayson loves it too with the toys on the bookcase and the "pi-yohws" to jump on.

This is a minor detail but I just had to show my new fabric storage. Sorry if the picture is a little blurry. After an hour of blogging this rennovation I'm losing steam. This already-painted-red-and-only-needing-a-little-door-repair unit was only $5 at a yard sale, no haggling involved!

Attic Makeover Part 6

And here were are today...finally, the big reveal...

Staircase leading from our bedroom.

Looking up.

Looking down.

We've carried this family-picture-black-frame-collection around since we've been married. This will be the third room where they have been displayed, each room with a different set-up. We've still got some to add here, we're just trying to figure out how much of this wall space is needed for little hands and parents-holding-babies coming up and down the stairs.

Attic Makeover Part 5

Almost finished! This was the day they came to install the carpet. In the picture below, Grayson is sitting in front of the dormer window, and I asked her to show me how excited she was about the new attic space. Which, by the way, we now call the "upstairs" and the "attic" is where all of our stuff is. I'm still getting used to it.


New mini-split (ductless) HVAC system on the wall above the closet doors. Just to brag on my handy-dandy husband...he installed it. He told me he wanted to and I was skeptical, even knowing how handy he is. Then he said it would save us $1000 and I said yes, please (HVAC was one of our larger costs). A few hours over one weekend and he was done. This thing works like a champ and is perfect for this space. It's controlled by a remote in the room and it runs outside to a compressor like a regular HVAC unit.